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Saturday, 28 September 2013

Beaba Babycook Rice Cooker

Now that Kate is 11 months old, she is eating carbohydrates along with her vegetables, fruits and meat. Her portions are really small and I have been cooking them in our smallest pot, which is still too big. On many occasions I leave it on the stove to cook, then promptly forget about it and by the time I check on it, the water would have evaporated and the porridge is either too dry and lumpy or her pasta is over-cooked. What I really need is an auto turn off function. Beaba kindly sponsored me their Babycook Rice-Cooker to use with my Babycook.

Not only can this be used to cook rice, but it can also cook porridge and pasta. This can be done by varying the amount of water used and the time used to cook it. As Kate is 11 months old, she is still eating porridge instead of rice.

Besides the normal porridge using white rice grain, I like to vary the grains used. Learn about why we should vary our baby's food in 6 Food Rules for babies (and children). I alternate between millet, quinoa or brown rice as they are more nutritious than white rice.

Today's lunch is millet with green beans

There are many other types of grains which you can find in the supermarkets like NTUC or Cold Storage.

Fill the water to Level 3 (which will be about 15 minutes of cooking time) and pour it into the heating reservoir of your Babycook.

Put the millet, soup stock and vegetable or meat into the central compartment. When we make soup for the family, I will put aside a portion for Kate before adding salt. I then freeze them into individual portions which I can take out to make her porridge.

This pot fits into the Babycook and you just turn it on. When it is ready, it will turn off automatically. I find this feature absolutely helpful to me. On days when only 1 child is back for lunch, I cook a maximum amount of porridge in this and it is enough to feed both Kate and a school-going child.

This is the Beaba Babycook

I used 1 part grain to 8 parts soup to get this consistency (10g millet with 80ml soup). It is a little bit watery but Kate likes it this way. If your baby prefers it a little less watery, you can use 1 part grain to 5 parts soup. Just experiment and see what your baby prefers.

Besides porridge, this can also be used to cook pasta. I also like to give Kate a variety of pasta. Besides the usual pasta which is made from wheat, I give her those made of spelt, buckwheat or corn.

Today she is having spelt pasta

Put both the pasta and water into the centre of the Beaba rice cooker. I use 10g of pasta for her per meal, and add about 100ml of water in to cook it. I pour in Level 3 of water into the heating reservoir as it takes about 15 minutes to cook it. For bigger pasta (when she is older) you would need to run the cycle twice to cook it fully.

Once it's done it will shut off automatically and I just drain the water away.

I still freeze portions of puree which I prepare using the Babycook. Every morning I will take 1 portion down into the fridge to defrost for her pasta meal.

Carrot and broccoli puree sauce

I use the babycook to heat up her sauce. It is so convenient, everything can be done with one appliance. It is especially useful when you travel with your baby or toddler.

I put her sauce into a dish and heat it up for about 5 minutes in the Babycook. The puree sauce goes over her pasta and her dinner is ready!

Somedays she finishes the whole portion but somedays she will shake her head when she's had enough. Don't fret and don't force your baby to finish everything. They have to learn to listen to their body and know when they are full. This will go a long way towards teaching them to have a positive attitude towards food.

What a yummy meal. She's all full and contented now!

Sane tip: This rice cooker insert has really made my life easier! I don't have to run to the kitchen when I'm in the middle of something else just to turn off the fire on the stove. And when I forget about it (don't ask me why, but it happened to me so many times it's not funny) I don't get overcooked or almost burnt food that Kate refuses to eat. I really love this adorable little appliance. It cooks her porridge and her pasta, steams and blends her purée sauces, heats it up and even defrosts it.. What more can I ask for!Save tip: Although these grains are more expensive (as they are usually organic) but I prefer to cook her smaller portions and ensure she eats all or most of it as I know she is getting more nutrients out of it. In the long run, her health and immunity will also be better which means that she will fall ill less. I also don't spend on vitamins or supplements for Kate. I believe that nutrients can be better absorbed from food than from supplements (not forgetting the sugar content in most vitamin supplements for kids).The Beaba Babycook Rice Cooker costs $20.60 and is available at Takashimaya, Isetan, Motherswork (a few outlets) or First Few years (Paragon). It has to be used together with the Beaba Babycook.

How do I cook the rice with stock? Do you know the exact measurements needed? My son just turned 1 and we are traveling this Friday. I am racking my brains on how to feed him. If the babycook can cook porridge then I can bring it along. Appreciate your advice.

I use 1 portion rice to 6 portions stock. So eg. 10g rice with 60 ml water, and run it for 2 cycles on #3, which is about half an hour. You can adjust the consistency until it fits your son. If the country allows, you can also bring along some veg like carrots or long beans and add it into the porridge to help with variety, nutrition and constipation.